We’ve looked at bioluminescence before — the way it naturally occurs in the ocean as light-emitting microorganisms. That is why we know that these organisms glow occurs when they are under stress, moving or agitated.

Dutch designer Teresa van Dongen found a way to harness this light within an actual lamp.

Still in its concept stages, the light hangs from the ceiling with the help of a counterbalance. The glass tube is filled with artificial seawater and bioluminescent bacteria. When the light is pushed, the bacteria become agitated and oxygen is introduced into their environment causing them to glow. Van Dongen says the light will swing for about 20 minutes before needing to be moved again.

There are still a few hitches with the project such as the lifespan of the bacteria (currently only about 2 days), but van Dongen is hopeful about the ability to create our own light from these organisms, a fairly sustainable option.

This table glows in the dark. And although the final product looks like something you would see in a design showroom, or modern house magazine, it is actually something that came from a DIY project — one that you could even do yourself.

Artist/inventor Mike Warren created this table using photoluminescent (glow) powder and clear resin, to fill the cracks of a naturally porous piece of wood. The result is a table that will charge in sunlight and glow blue, only in the cracks and spaces filled with the glow resin.

Check out the video below to see how it works and how it was made. If you want to attempt this yourself, follow the instructions on Instructables and be sure to send us a photo of the result!

We know that children grow up quickly, and this means that the products designed for babies are not the same as those designed for toddlers, or kindergarteners. But what if they were?

Design company Dot and Cross has created a line of products that change, to adapt to the different stages of growing up. From a crib that transforms into a bed, to an art easel that transforms into a desk, these products are designed to last.

The products are all built to work together, from the moment you are designing a baby’s room to the moment you are redesigning for those teenage years. The simple design and neutral, solid colors make it easy to work with this furniture for years.

If you’re working on decorating your child’s room, check out our personalized art!

We’ve featured close-up photographs of diatoms before, and as explained these images are microscopic photographs of algae. The patterns and colors created from the smallest organisms on earth are astounding.

But saying that they are microscopic photographs doesn’t really explain — how did the scientists and artists capture these amazing images?

Klaus Kemp is here to explain it for us. The video below gives us some insight into his studies and artwork, as diatoms have been his professional and artistic focus for many years.

This clock helps you to see the passage of time in a different way than most: it tracks the passing of a year, rather than hour by hour.

The usual numbers on the face of the clock are replaced by living vegetation — cedar leaves — that will die over time, and turn from green to brown to help you follow the changing seasons. The concept came from the Japanese art of sake making, in which the changing cedar leaves are used to track the year of the fermentation process.

Though the idea of watching the leaves turn brown doesn’t seem like a happy one, transitioning from watching the seconds count down to watching time gradually and naturally pass by would certainly lower your stress levels!

Check out the company behind the clock, Bril, and see more of their unique clock below:

Enter now to win a $100 voucher for any DNA 11 Product! To enter, just like us on Facebook and then submit your entry! If you share the contest on social media, you will also be awarded bonus entries when your friends enter!

Contest closes September 2, 2014 at 11:59 PT. Open to residents of Canada, the US and the EU only.

Photographer Martin Kimbell has found a way to freshen up the classic photography experiment called light painting – and it doesn’t involve any high-tech gadgets or tools.

These light tornadoes are created by attaching LED’s to a hoop and throwing it into the air. As the hoop spins and descends, Kimbell takes a long-exposure photograph to capture the pattern the lights make on the way down.

Through a perfect combination of illumination and timing, Kimbell is able to create beautiful and diverse tornado-like “structures” in the images.

They’re here! The colors that you voted on are now available for purchase at DNA11.com!

In the end, we added 5 new colors to choose from! They are available for any portrait size that you choose — and you get to choose your colors after ordering so you’ll be able to look at the swatch and decide at home!

At first glance you would think that these spiders have been turned into a walking art project, but in fact they are naturally decorated with the sequin-esque reflective pieces on their backs.

These spiders are appropriately called mirrored, or sequined spiders and they can actually change the size of the reflective patches, depending on if they are on the move or at rest, threatened or relaxed.

Venture over to photographer Nicky Bay’s website to see some more (and less pretty) macro shots of spiders.